The present invention relates in general to improved subscriber systems for cellular or wireless telephones, wireline customer premise equipment (CPE) and other communications equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for deactivating an incoming call indicator, e.g., a vibrator, ringer or other indicator, on a per call or temporary basis. The invention is particularly useful in the context of portable telephones which may be carried into social gatherings, business meetings and other events where it is desirable to minimize disruption to others.
One of the great attractions of portable telephones, especially compact cellular or wireless phones, is that they can be conveniently carried by a subscriber, thereby allowing the subscriber to be contacted as needed. The subscriber, therefore, need not xe2x80x9cstay by the phonexe2x80x9d when an important call is anticipated but, rather, is free to attend meetings or social events, conduct business or otherwise proceed normally with his day.
Unfortunately, there are certain situations where receiving an incoming call may be disruptive and inappropriate. Conventionally, when a portable (or other) telephone receives an incoming call signal, a call indicator system such as a ringer system is activated to notify the subscriber of the incoming call. Typically, the phone is programmed to ring, repeatedly, until either the phone is answered or a given time period elapses, at which point a hang up or other caller unavailable signal is provided. A subscriber receiving a call during certain meetings, social occasions or other events, is therefore placed in the uncomfortable position of having to allow the phone to continue ringing at the risk of disrupting his current company, answer the phone and request time to attain an appropriate level of privacy before continuing the conversation at the risk of offending the caller and current company, or silence the ringer by hanging up, thereby offending the caller and, to a great extent, forfeiting one advantage of having a portable phone.
The problem of inappropriate phone ringing has now reached a level where some restaurants and other establishments have adopted rules against phone use on the premises, and a significant segment of the public is coming to view portable phone users as ill-mannered and inconsiderate. Unsurprisingly, the problem is a matter of great concern to phone equipment manufacturers, carriers and other service providers.
The present invention allows a subscriber to temporarily deactivate the telephone ringer, or other call indicator, until the subscriber can attain an appropriate level of privacy. The call indicator is deactivated without terminating processing of the incoming call. In this manner, the subscriber is notified of the incoming call with minimal disruption and annoyance of current company. Moreover, call processing continues while the subscriber seeks privacy for answering the call such that inconvenience to the caller is minimized.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for temporarily deactivating a call indicator, i.e., a ringer, vibrator, or other device for notifying the subscriber of an incoming call. The system involves a called telephone including a receiver for receiving an incoming call signal from a calling telephone, a call indicator for notifying the subscriber of the incoming call signal and an answering input device for providing an answering signal in response to an input by the subscriber, e.g., a call pickup signal. The call indicator is normally active during an answering time period between receipt of the incoming call signal and receipt of the answering signal. For example, in the case of a ringer, the ringer may ring periodically throughout the answering time period. The called telephone also includes an incoming call processor for receiving the incoming call signal and processing a call request during the answering time period. Among other things, the call processor may signal switching devices of the telecommunications network to set up the call and activate a timer for terminating the call request if the request is not answered within a predetermined time.
The novel system includes a call indicator controller for deactivating the call indicator during at least a portion of the answering time period while processing of the call request continues normally. The call indicator controller includes a device for receiving a deactivation input from the subscriber and a device for controlling operation of the call indicator in response to the deactivation input so as to temporarily deactivate operation of the call indicator. The deactivation input may be entered by the subscriber via a keypad, menu or other input method (e.g., voice) of the called telephone. For example, a particular key of the keypad may be designated for receiving the deactivation input. In this manner, the subscriber can deactivate the call indicator by pressing or clicking the designated key and then subsequently answer the incoming call by clicking any key of the keypad or a second key designated for answering. Alternatively, the deactivation input may be entered by the subscriber by clicking any key (as opposed to a designated key) of the keypad. The subscriber may subsequently, or immediately, answer the call by clicking any key of the keypad or a key designated for answering. In the case where any key can be used to enter the deactivation input and any key can be used to answer, the user can immediately answer the phone by double clicking on any key of the keypad.
The call indicator deactivation system of the present invention can be implemented in conjunction with any suitable architecture including handset and/or network components. In this regard, the associated logic can be wholly or partially programed into the hardware of a portable telephone or the logic can be resident elsewhere in the telecommunication system. In the latter case, for example, a call indicator deactivation input by the subscriber may be transmitted from the called telephone to a switch, an associated register or other processor of the network. In response, the network may transmit a signal to the called telephone which causes the telephone to deactivate the call indicator without terminating call processing. It will be appreciated that other architectures for implementing the present invention are possible, e.g., a smart card based CPE for storing data and executing logic programs.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a telephone can be preset to minimize disruption of social gatherings, business meetings or other events due to incoming calls. A call indicator of a called telephone is associated with a controller for selectively operating the call indicator based on inputs from the subscriber. For example, a first user input can implement a pre-programmed operation for substituting a single ping ring for the familiar periodic ringing function. A second input can restore the normal ringer function. The controller receives the subscriber inputs, stores information regarding the selected operation (e.g., ping ring or normal ringing), and subsequently operates the call indicator in accordance with the selected function upon receiving an incoming call signal. In this manner, the subscriber can preset the telephone to provide a minimized call indication when the subscriber anticipates that he/she will be in settings where normal indicator operation would be disruptive.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a holding announcement is provided in conjunction with deactivation of a call indicator using network and/or CPE equipment. The associated system includes a memory for storing a holding message such as xe2x80x9cplease hold, your call will be answered shortlyxe2x80x9d and a processor for receiving an incoming call signal, establishing communication between the called telephone and the calling telephone and recalling and playing the stored holding message. The processor is preferably further operative for receiving an answering input from the subscriber and interrupting the holding message upon receipt of the answering signal so as to permit normal communication as between the called and calling telephone. The system may further monitor the telephone to determine whether the subscriber answers within a predetermined time. If no answer is received within the predetermined time, a further announcement may be provided or the call may be forwarded to network voice mail. An indicator light, warning message or other indication can be provided so that the subscriber knows when the predetermined time is close to elapsing. In addition, a suitable mechanism may be provided to allow the subscriber to select, re-start or extend the predetermined time.
The invention may be understood as encompassing certain operating xe2x80x9cmodesxe2x80x9d and a number of xe2x80x9cimplementationsxe2x80x9d for selecting operation in these modes. The operating modes relate to whether the telephone""s incoming call indicator (e.g., the ringer) is allowed to operate normally or is operated to minimize disruption. In this regard, the invention allows a subscriber to select between: 1) an active indicator mode, and 2) a temporarily deactivated mode. In the active indicator mode, the call indicator is active throughout the answer waiting time period, i.e., until the call is answered or the time for answering expires. In the temporarily deactivated mode, the call indicator is deactivated during at least a portion of the answering time period. For example, in the temporarily deactivated mode, the call indicator may provide a single ring, abbreviated ring, or other indication and then remain inactive for the remainder of the call answering time period. A number of possible xe2x80x9cimplementationsxe2x80x9d of this mode selection function are possible. Generally, these implementations include: 1) a subsystem for allowing the subscriber to pre-select the temporarily deactivated mode prior to receiving a call, e.g., before entering a meeting; 2) a subsystem for deactivating the call indicator after a call has been received (e.g., while the phone is ringing) by pressing a designated key; 3) a subsystem for deactivating the call indicator after a call has been received by pressing any key on the keypad; and 4) a subsystem for providing a recorded message while the indicator is deactivated and the caller is waiting for the called phone to be answered.
The present invention thus allows a subscriber to deactivate the telephone ringer until the subscriber can attain an appropriate level of privacy, thereby reducing :disruption and annoyance of others. The invention also allows processing of the incoming call to continue upon deactivation of the call indicator so that inconvenience to the caller is minimized.